Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., revealed which “biggest mistake” he believes the Democratic Party made that led to their 2024 defeat against Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
“You did say during your speech the Democrats made some terrible mistakes and have to take responsibility, some responsibility, for the state of the country right now. Elaborate on that. What were the mistakes? How can they be fixed?” ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos asked on “This Week” Sunday.
Booker had referred to the Democrats’ “terrible mistakes” during his over-25-hour filibuster in the previous week. He broke former Sen. Strom Thurmond’s 1957 record for longest Senate filibuster, which was 24 hours and 18 minutes. Thurmond had filibustered to prevent the passage of the Civil Rights Act, whereas Booker’s filibuster was a protest of the “national crisis” he claims is caused by the actions of President Donald Trump and his adviser Elon Musk.
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“I confess that I have been imperfect. I confess that I’ve been inadequate to the moment. I confess that the Democratic Party has made terrible mistakes – that it gave a lane to this demagogue… I confess we all must look in the mirror and say ‘we will do better.'”
The New Jersey Senator said that the “biggest mistake” that the Democratic Party had committed was “not centering people enough.”
“Well, the biggest mistake is not centering people enough. A lot of people voted for Donald Trump because they trusted him, and they did not trust that the Democrats could deliver for them,” Booker said.
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Trump’s 2024 re-election blowout saw the president sweep every single swing state as well as win the popular vote – a feat he failed to achieve in his first election victory in 2016. A recent Fox News poll shows the president enjoys a 49% approval rating, while the Congressional Democrats receive low marks from voters, with only 30% of respondents approving of the job they are doing.
“You may have this great analysis, great thoughts and ideas, but people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. We are in a state where, again, the Democratic Party should own up,” Booker said.
He went on to say that if the Democrats wanted to fix their mistakes and reestablish trust with voters, they would need to shift their focus away from politics to people and center on “American voices.”
“These are the people right now that are important, not the Democratic Party. It’s the destiny of our country. And this is a time where Americans have to say, this is not about party,” he said. “It’s about patriotism. It’s about people. It’s about the future of our nation and what’s going to define us together.”
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